Who's the most interesting person you've met/sat next to on a flight/train?

Gassage

I was coming back from a rugby trip to France and a well dressed Scandinavian chap was sitting next to me on a lowcost airline

Got talking as he was vaguely interested in rugby because 'they use my product in it' - his name was Lars-  was in pharma and CEO of a big group. We chatted and I asked how he got into it...

"Ahhh- I invented Compeed blister plasters and got bought out" was the reply. He was a chemical engineer who enjoyed hiking and just had an idea and the intellect to deliver the product. Now worth absolute millions.

I am a big fan of Compeed and I simply couldn't believe what he told me, but googled him after and all checked out!

blobb

At a 'dinner party' I sat next to the guy who owned the company that made the heat resistant tiles on the space shuttle, the one that burnt up. When he told me I looked him in the eye and he said 'It wasn't our fault'.

Mate of mine sat next to a lady on an aeroplane and started talking about cars (it's all he ever talked about) she knew loads about cars and they got on like a house on fire. Turned out it was Caroll Shelby's wife.

Offset

One degree of separation, but:

• My cousin was flying back from NY on Concorde many years back.  Jon Lord sat next to him.  Top bloke apparently.

• Very old friend was flying back from Morocco a couple of years ago.  An elderly Muslim gent sat next to him.  It was Twink from The Pink Fairies.  A really lovely and very interesting guy.

skunkwerx

I sat next to an interesting fellow on a plane once. 

He just started asking me a bunch of questions, what I was doing/where am I going, how did I get here etc so we got talking. Inquisitive bloke he was.  

Turns out he was a pilot himself which was pretty cool, so I had a whole lot of questions to ask. 

But the guy just kept coming back to his original question to me, which was 'what was I doing here?' 

Eventually he told me to fuck off out of the co-pilots seat. 

Gassage

blobb said:

At a 'dinner party' I sat next to the guy who owned the company that made the heat resistant tiles on the space shuttle, the one that burnt up. When he told me I looked him in the eye and he said 'It wasn't our fault'.

Mate of mine sat next to a lady on an aeroplane and started talking about cars (it's all he ever talked about) she knew loads about cars and they got on like a house on fire. Turned out it was Caroll Shelby's wife.

A night on the tiles, eh?

rlw

I sat on a bench next to Damon & Georgie Hill at West Byfleet Station.

FarleyUK

On a flight to Las Vegas for a guitar camp, I was in premium economy (being 6ft 6, I don't fit in 'normal' economy!), and had an empty seat next to me (the story gets better, honest).

An hour in, an American guy in his early 30s is moved there. Seems nice enough. He then proceeds to drink 6 double JD and cokes in 2 hours, and I get the feeling he wants to chat.

So, I take my earbuds out and start making small talk - basically, turns out the guy was a merc in Ukraine, and also a former green beret. He was telling me a lot of things he'd experienced there, all the people in his unit, the shit he'd seen and done etc. Even showed me very graphic footage on his mobile of the aftermath of a Russian attack on his position, his unit being fired at by tanks and running to get into a basement etc.

He was obviously suffering PTSD; I often wonder what happened to him. He mentioned he was going back home to Vegas due to something with his house, but then he was going back to Ukraine, as his unit had been pretty much wiped out, and he felt guilt for not being there with the other survivors.

Blueingreen

My wife and I were flying to London and it turned out we were sitting right in front of Malcolm (now Lord) Bruce, one time deputy leader of the Lib Dems who, we later found out, was travelling to be on the Question Time panel that night. It was exceptionally windy and the plane twice attempted and failed to land at London City airport, getting quite badly buffeted about.  By the time it made a 3rd, successful, attempt to land everybody had had a pretty good scare and people were chattering away to their neighbours with an abnormal lack of British reserve.  By then we'd got a conversation going with Bruce and his friendly female companion (possibly his wife but could have been an assistant or something).  I don't think anybody said anything particularly interesting, a few jokes about how scary it was/had been etc but we had a friendly chat for 10 or 15 minutes.

bloodandtears

Two women sat across from me on a train journey from London... my mother is deaf and they struck up conversation.. turned out to be Mr Tumble's sign language advisors... one for the kids..

KKJale

I once found myself on a flight out of Heathrow in a window seat with two empty seats beside me. I had hardly had time to luxuriate in the glory of my isolation when the seatbelt light went out and two improbably Cockney young women with fake tans and scraped-back ponytails instantly appeared in the aisle, chirped "Awright? S'okay if we sit 'ere?" and plonked themselves down. 

They were cagey about who they were and what they were doing but the nearest one turned out to be called Nicky and she was lovely and we later had a bit of a natter about her passion, dogs. Her sister was terrifyingly thin and spent the flight crashed out and when I wanted the loo I had to climb over her. I looked them up afterwards, it was easy... Nicola and Teena Collins, identical twins and daughters of self-proclaimed East End gangster Les Falco, on their way to the LA premiere of Snatch, which they were in. Phone numbers were not exchanged.

roundthebend

Maybe not the most interesting, but very interesting to me.

On our holiday to Switzerland recently we were coming down from Jungfraujoch but the train was really busy. We asked a couple if they minded if we joined them, they agreed and insisted that my wife sit next to the female and I would sit next to the guy. She was dressed in a way that suggested she was Muslim, and this request supported that to my mind. Turns out they were from Saudi Arabia, Jeddah to be precise.

We started chatting and I was blown away by how my expectations had been so far off the mark. They were both dentists and spoke really good English. They were very passionate about their country and the culture and tourism. She told us how she loved watching Bridgerton and The Crown and wanted to visit the UK. They had good humour and were just lovely people. I suppose when you're on holiday you get a particular niche of people so it could be that the average Saudi Arabian couple would fit more closely to my pre-conceived stereotypes, but I came away from it with a refreshed attitude and more aware of my prejudices.

lustycourtier

I was once travelling to Ibiza I think, about 15 years ago and got chatting to the Brummy woman next to me and she saw my Zeppelin Tattoo. Her husband was rolling his eyes as she was telling me she'd been dating Noddy Holder for a long time and left him for Robert Plant and told me lots of fun stories about both.   

bobacco

roundthebend said:

They were both dentists

Of course they loved The Crown. 

(Alright, alright. I’m leaving…)

Axe_meister

The actor who played Tywin Lansister from games of thrones. Looks just as scary in real life. Very pleasant chap, a bit of small talk. 
Said he loved being on set, one of most enjoyable roles.

VimFuego

I once sat next to a chap on a train who had ridden every Class 37 deltic locomotive in the fleet and was steadily working his way through the Class 55's. Never got his name, but boy did he have some stories to tell. 

victorludorum

My dad took a flight from Australia where he was sat next to Michael Hutchence. Nice guy, he said, but he didn't have a clue who he was!

VimFuego

victorludorum said:

My dad took a flight from Australia where he was sat next to Michael Hutchence. Nice guy, he said, but he didn't have a clue who he was!

why didn't Hutchense know who your dad is?

scrumhalf

VimFuego said:

I once sat next to a chap on a train who had ridden every Class 37 deltic locomotive in the fleet and was steadily working his way through the Class 55's. Never got his name, but boy did he have some stories to tell. 

You must have been chuffed.

I've let Dave Davies get on the 143 bus before me in Highgate a couple of times

bloodandtears

Axe_meister said:

The actor who played Tywin Lansister from games of thrones. Looks just as scary in real life. Very pleasant chap, a bit of small talk. 
Said he loved being on set, one of most enjoyable roles.

Charles Dance ??

merlin

Flight; The guy who ran the company that built and elevated the London Eye. Chatted all the way. 

Train; George Thomas, Viscount Tonypandy. He invited me to join him as he worked with my brother and we chatted from Newport to London. 

Gassage

VimFuego said:

I once sat next to a chap on a train who had ridden every Class 37 deltic locomotive in the fleet and was steadily working his way through the Class 55's. Never got his name, but boy did he have some stories to tell. 

OMG. I really mean that too!